County Council backs volunteer advisory panel

P-I STAFF

Updated 10:00 pm, Tuesday, September 4, 2007

King County residents will meet voluntarily in an organized network of small groups to discuss leading issues of the day and provide recommendations to county officials, under a measure endorsed Tuesday by the County Council.

"The goal is to make participating in the public hearing process as easy as having friends and neighbors over for coffee," Dick Spady told the council.

Spady, a co-founder of the Dick's Drive-In hamburger chain, and his son Jim were the prime movers behind a petition drive that brought the proposal before the council. The council had the option to enact the Spadys' initiative into law, to send it to voters in November for ratification or to pair it on the ballot with a version revised by the council.

The council decided to enact the initiative, after the Spadys guaranteed that the effort won't require any public money for its first two years.

Under the proposal, the county auditor will appoint a volunteer "citizen councilor coordinator" to organize a network of discussion groups, drawing on community, business, religious, educational and other organizations for volunteer participants.